The competition is aimed at undergraduates with a view to kick-starting their design career. The winner will not only receive £1000 but will also be invited to join IDS at 100% Design and meet and be mentored by some of the UK’s leading composite material manufacturers.

IDS are the UK’s largest distributor of decorative surfaces and, as a forward thinking business, want to increase links with education in this important area of the UK construction market. An exhibition area within the reception of the building will be utilised to showcase students’ work.

The competition launches on 14th May 2012 and all submissions must be received by post by midnight 31st August 2012. Entrants should submit a selection of presentation boards from their chosen categories. Competition entry is entirely free and an application form can be filled out online from a dedicated competition webpage on the NDA website: http://www.nda.ac.uk/competitions/

For over 23 years the National Design Academy has been a Centre of Excellence for Interior Design. It is the largest provider of nationally accredited Interior Design courses in the UK, both in studio and by distance learning. Qualifications include Diplomas, Foundation Degrees and BA (Hons) in a range of design-related disciplines. All Degree level courses are validated and accredited by Staffordshire University.

Nottingham based Artist and Designer Sarah Turner, is causing a storm in the interior design world with her eco-friendly lighting designs. From her studio in the heart of Nottingham, Sarah uses old plastic bottles discarded from the city’s cafes and transforms them into eclectic pieces.

So far she’s been commissioned by the likes of SodaStream, London Fashion Week, Twitter, the Ideal Home Show and recently secured a place in the final of this years Philips lighting competition.

Read her exciting interview with The Design Hub and find out how Sarah’s made such an impact within the design world and what’s in store for her next! Continue reading →

Laura Olivia, never dreamt that one day she’d be supplying her designs to manufacturers all over the world, as well as being selected by Jethro Macey for this years New Designers “One Year On” event in London.

Her colourful designs started off as watercolours, sketches and photographic images inspired by nature. Laura combines digital technology and embroidery to create bright, colourful designs, perfect to lift any mood. In an interview with The Design Hub, Laura talks about her journey from being a textile design student to now owning her own brand and how other people can go about starting their own business. Continue reading →

To give them a little boost in the right direction, I decided to print off a list of PR tips, people and trends to follow on Twitter and an article I wrote yesterday about this subject. Online paper Social Business Consulting, had timed their feature of my post perfectly Continue reading →

Since starting The Design Hub in January I’ve been introduced to a whole new world of social media from sharing forums and Twitter streams to Facebook business pages and Linkedin profiles. I’ve realised that I’m not at as techi savvy as I thought I was. The first few weeks on Twitter I was completely baffled with trends, lists, hash keys and just general letters stuffed in random places!

So I thought It might be a good idea to get a feel for how others used blogging and social media. I began to read other peoples blogs to see how they set out their pages and posts, also what extra tools they used to make the blog more interactive and user friendly such as; top posts, latest posts, popular search terms, RSS, archives and links. This research gave me so many fantastic ideas about what I wanted to include on my blog I couldn’t wait to get started! Continue reading →

The usual practices of being a freelance Interior Designer such as; meeting clients, understanding their lifestyle, presenting sample boards, working out a design scheme and project managing, can be a little difficult to say the least, if your client lives in Durham and you’re based in the Isle of Wight.

Well, Interior DesignerJo Acheson wasn’t fazed by this hurdle and set up a clever design service which meets her clients every need without having to leave the island!

The design bug first hit Jo when she re-decorated her first home, she then started a Professional Interior Design Diploma course at The National Design Academy in 2004. After the success of her interior design business based on the island, Jo aimed for new heights and is now re-designing homes all over the country.

We don’t want to give any more away, so to find out how Jo challenges the traditional practices of interior design and brings it bang up to date with twenty-first century living – carry on reading and get stuck in!

Joanna grew up in Australia and trained as an accountant for many years, but she couldn’t suppress her creative hunger anymore. She took the plunge and enrolled on a National Design Academy Professional Interior Design Diploma and within a week she was hooked! Now finally doing something she’s loves and enjoying every minute, Joanna runs her own interior design business Joanna Ford Interiors Design , based in Australia, which celebrates honest and thoughtful design. Joanna is proof that successfully changing careers can be achieved and lead to positive things. Get comfy and sink into Joanna’s colourful story Continue reading →

The two decided to take the plunge and set up their own business, Grasshoppers Interiors. Two years on, the business is flying and team Grasshopper is still going strong. Put your feet up and enjoy Sharon and Debbie’s story of success.

Emma Shaw graduated from Nottingham Trent University in 2001 with a degree in Industrial Management. Even though she had a keen interest in soft furnishings from a young age, she didn’t expect to follow this path because of her chosen educational route. But when Emma bought her first house, she decided to make all her own furnishings and this reignited the interior design bug she’d always had.

Wanting to develop her skills and flex her creative fingertips, Emma enrolled on a soft furnishings Diploma courseand has never looked back since. She’s now the proud owner of a soft furnishings business which is thriving and experiencing high demand. She’s recently taken on her first employee and launched a brand new website www.ecclesbourneinteriors.com Emma is an example to many young people wanting to challenge themselves and proof that positive things can come thick and fast if you work hard. Enjoy her interview…Continue reading →

Interior Designer Karen lane loves restoring old and unused furniture, she often looks for second-hand goods to “up-cycle”. With times of austerity upon us, “up-cycling” is becoming the hottest new way of re-decorating without the huge price tag.

Karen gives us some examples of pieces she’s restored and how she went about doing it! So if you fancy re-vamping a room or particular piece of furniture check out Karens tips below and let us know how you got on – send us pictures or a video! Or, if you’d like Karen to sprinkle some of her design magic on your old furniture, you can contact her through her website Autograph Interior Designs.